The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Walking Hastings Country Park

UPDATE 20 April: Well, Penzance is out this year as the hosts at my cottage are in residence as they cannot at present return to Spain. Instead, I will spend 6 weeks in an apartment at Windermere Lake in the Lake District. Also, my scheduled June group trips to the Baltic countries and Poland were cancelled; I will spend another month here in Hastings before leaving for the Lake District later in May. The flowers here have been absolutely gorgeous! Here is the link to the PDF of a PowerPoint that I made. Enjoy! The Vagabond Hiker

This spring is certainly shaping up differently than any of us expected. Already my trips to Jordan, the Azores, and Tunisia have been either cancelled or delayed until 2021. While I hope much of my remaining travel itinerary can go forward this year, during lock-down we should appreciate the nature around us. For me that means walking in my local park.

The wonderful 800+ acre Hastings Country Park & Nature Reserve surrounding my apartment fits the bill perfectly, and is a big reason I chose this area for my English sojourns. Although I have already shared a few photos on my blog (see my 4 December 2019 post), with spring here I thought I would share a few woodland and meadow scenes – and of course wildflowers! – that I’m enjoying in the coming weeks as I meander through the complex network of park trails.

Fingers crossed in May I’ll be heading out to Penzance in Cornwall to enjoy the wonderful landscapes in South West England.

Stay safe,

The Vagabond Hiker

View to East Hill and Rocklands (upper right) where I’m staying for seven weeks. Hastings Old Town is just beyond. Gorse, seen here, is prevalent all over southern England.
A stream-side path in Ecclesbourne Glen, the nearest of three glens that bisect the park.
A Beech on a rock
A stream in Fairlight Glen
Waterfall, Fairlight Glen
Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), a species of buttercup
Common Dog Violet (Viola riviniana). Unlike the very similar Sweet Violet, Dog Violet has no smell.
Wild Primrose (Primula vulgaris), true to its name the “first rose” of spring
An bizarre-looking old Oak tree in Ecclesbourne Glen
Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), so small I almost missed them!
Bluebells and Wood Anemone. The bluebells are just beginning to bloom.
Blackthorn flowers. Blackthorn can be distinguished from Hawthorn as the latter tree flowers after leafing out.
Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea)
Warren Glen vista down to the English Channel
Detail of Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum), a non-stinging variety
Magpies, common yet attractive
A wild Exmoor pony. In February the park introduced a new herd of six to help manage the landscape around Warren Glen after the previous herd was moved on to greener pastures.
A fox here at Rocklands. I suspect someone is feeding them as they seem to be bolder than I would have thought possible.

Comments

    • Thanks, Peter. Hope all is well with you. I am now in the Lake District for the next couple of months, followed by Cornwall in August. This is a gorgeous part of Britain!

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